Losing YOUR privacy one device at a time: Your phone may put you at risk ...
How many people know that there are vendors such as General Electric and Phillips who are building Apple’s micro-location technology known as iBeacon into LED lights (Bluetooth LE for iBeacon functionality) that are undetectable by the ordinary citizen?
For more information on how this works click here or on the picture above.
The benefit to the companies that deploy this “beacon” technology has a downside for individuals …
- As a market research tool -- discovering your product interests by where and how long you are standing.
- As a sales tool -- “pushing” announcements of availability and sales to your mobile device.
- As a productivity tool -- monitoring customer and employee movements to insure that employees effectively are serving customers.
- As a theft deterrent -- knowing who is in the vicinity of a stolen item and tracking the tag through the register to cancel a potential alert.
It should be noted that the iBeacon is most a micro-location device that sends out a signal, but does not actually receive information at this time. It will be the apps on your mobile device that will use the micro-location information and communicate with something on the network.
Analog laws do not always translate to the digital age …
- Imagine rounding up or detaining a group of potential witnesses or “people of interest” based on their proximity to a criminal act.
- Imagine re-purposing location data to serve as “location, time, and date” evidence of a person that contradicts their alibi.
Bottom line …
The magic “tinfoil” hat joke has become a reality as a continuous metal shield blocks unwanted intrusions and interrogation of our electronic devices since many of these embedded technologies operate without our conscious awareness and may be used by evildoers for nefarious unspecified purposes.
Perhaps, a foil-lined container would be the only way to preserve our privacy in this age of intrusive networked devices. Or be extremely vigilant about which apps have access to location data.
Welcome to the brave new word of the internet of things.
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius “A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell “Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar “Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS